WotC The Adventure Begins

[cavalier973]

So, I saw this board game at the store today, and purchased it on a whim.

"D&D, The Adventure Begins". For 2 to 4 players.

The goal of the game is to advance through four adventure zones to defeat one of four monsters: A Green Dragon, A Kraken, A Fire Giant, or a Beholder.

The players have the choice to play one of four characters: an Elf Bard, a Dragonborn Rogue, a Dwarf Fighter, or a Human Sorceror. In addition, each character has a choice of one of two attack styles, and one of four personality types. The personality types give different powers (for lack of a better word) when engaging in combat.
The characters each have 10 hit points, which are tracked by a plastic marker on the player cardholder stands. Monster hit points are tracked by a plastic piece that slides along the side of the monster card.

There are eight backpacks cards, each with a list of items contained within. These are used in certain encounters, and some characters can use them in combat. For example, the Sorceror can make one of the items in the backpack "come alive" and attack the monster. The player is expected to imaginatively describe what happens.

There are also item cards that can be purchased, or found after certain monsters are defeated.

Gold can also be used to "level up" a character from level one to level two.

If a character is reduced to zero hit points, the character dies, unless the player has gold, in which case all the gold is lost and the character's hit points are raised to 5.

There are monsters to fight and noncombat encounters to overcome (again, players use their imagination to overcome these). After successfully ending an encounter, the players can receive gold, items, or a restoration of lost hit points, and then move their playing pieces along a track. There are three spaces, followed by a "boss encounter", in each of the adventure areas. Each area also has two side tracks that are optional, and in which only monsters are encountered. The Adventure areas are Neverwinter, the Neverwinter Woods, Gauntlegrim, and Mount Hotenow. They each have a tile that can be arranged to fit the other area tiles.

Each player takes a turn at being the dungeon master, by taking a card from the adventure deck and following the instructions.

It is a nice game for younger players.

Four d20s and one d10 are included.

 

[Orcslayer78]

Bah, one can do the same for free with a dungeoncrawl using some OSR game based on B/X, it's the same stuff.

 

[Azuresun]

Bah, one can do the same for free with a dungeoncrawl using some OSR game based on B/X, it's the same stuff.

You may not have understood the target audience for this game.

 

[Morrus]

Bah, one can do the same for free with a dungeoncrawl using some OSR game based on B/X, it's the same stuff.

What an odd thing to say.

 

[jasper]

Is it a tie to the die cast minis that are popping up at Walmart.

Robot or human?

www.walmart.com

 

[cavalier973]

Is it a tie to the die cast minis that are popping up at Walmart.

Robot or human?

www.walmart.com

That's pretty cool.

I don't think the minis are related, though. This game is official WOTC D&D.

On a similar note, I almost bought a box containing three sets of dice (d20, d12, d10, d6, a percentile die, and I think a d4), each with a pouch to carry them in. $8. I don't remember the name of the company that made them.

 

[cavalier973]

Bah, one can do the same for free with a dungeoncrawl using some OSR game based on B/X, it's the same stuff.

You are right. I do have a lot of paraphernalia that I could use to do so. I have run my kids through part of Keep on the Borderlands using the BECMI rules. I pulled down my copy of the 5e Starter set, in fact, after playing "Adventure Begins" and started reading through it, in preparation to running "The Lost Mine of Phandelver".

The draw of a board game like this is the structure it provides--the game does most of the heavy lifting, with the Adventure cards. There isnt a lot of record keeping for the DM, er, "DM"; and, in fact, RAW is that each player takes a turn at being The DM.The artwork is fine. The miniatures are cool. The non-combat encounter and monster cards are amusing. The first card was a NC encounter card, and involved the characters running across a magic stone of dancing. Each player, excepting the acting DM, was instructed to show the "dance of one's people", and the DM decided which was the best dance, and awarded that player a piece of gold, or something.

I also was hoping that the game would be a sort of substitute for "the best game ever made (and anyone who says otherwise is wrong)", but Adventure Begins falls rather short of that expectation.